HEADS OF HEBREW GRAMl\iAR HE1tDS OF IIEilRE\V GRAJ\ilJ\lAR CONTAINING ALL THE PRINCIPLES NEEDED BY A LEARNER. BY S. PRIDEAUX TREGELLES, LL.D. TWENTY-THIRD IMPRESSION SAMUEL BAGSTER & SONS LTD. 80 WIGMORE STREET LONDON WI NEW YORK: HARPER AND BROTHERS ..?'RINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN PREFACE. - THE object of these Heads of Hebrew Grammar is to furnish the learner of that language with all that is noedful for him in his introductory studies, so that he may be thoroughly grounded in all that is elementary. In teaching, the present writer has been wont to give oral imtruction as to all the elements, commonly making use of some short Hebrew grammar ;--marking tl,e rules which re­ quire attent10n, and adding others which are not to be found in elementary grammars in general. In this way he has had a kind of oral Hebrew grammar for learners; and the same grammatical instruction which he has thus communicated to those whom he has thus taught, is here given w-ritten down for use or reference. He is well aware that the number of Hebrew grammars,­ both of those called elementary, and of those called critical, -is very great; this consideration made him long feel reluc­ tant to commit his oral grammatical instruction to writing; but, if the mass of He\Jrew grammars be examined, it will be found that very few of them possess any distinctive features; and he is not aware of one which he has been able to use as thoroughly adapted to the want,s of learners. The outline V PREFACE. grammars are mostly unclear in arrangement, and often in, correct in statement. With regard to this outline, he can only say, that it has already stood the test of e:vperience in its practical use, and thus he is able to speak of the result as satisfactory. This gives him a confidence in introducing this outline to others, besides those to whom he has given oral instruction. It is true that in recommending an outline of Hebrew grammar to beginners, no less an authority than that of GEBENIUS is opposed to one :-the opinion of that learned man, the greatest Hebraist of modern times, was, that a learner should use a critical grammar from the commencement of his studies. But Gesenius, in his Hebrew tuition, had to do not with mere beginners; the students came to him with an elementary grounding in forms and inflections acquired in the Gymnasium, previous to their university course ; and we believe that a critical grammar, if put into the hands of a mere beginner, will be found to deal with subjects in a deep and philosophic manner, which will, for a time, be rather a hindrance than a help, because the subjects themselves are not understood. Let there be a proper groundwork laid of rnrms and in­ flections, a.s well as of the ordinary forms of construction, and then the best and most critical Hebrew grammars may be studied, and that with profit. Every one who seeks an intimate knowledge of Hebrew should be encouraged not only to use, but to study, the grammar of Gesenins [as edited and enlarged by Professor E. Kautzsch (English translation from the twenty-sixth German edition; Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1898)]; but no one should be recommended to attempt this, unless elementary knowledge be first acquired with accuracy, either PREFACE .u from an elementary grammar, or by selection from one that is . critical Here an attempt is made to lead the learner into a practice of reading fluently; few things are more necessary to him than this; with this object, the Hebrew words in the former part Qf the grammar have their pronunciation appended to them in our letters, with the syllables divided, and the accents marked. In dividing the syllables, the common practice of Hebraists has been fo1lowed. A chapter has been added on the accents; this is a subject which is generally passed over in Hebrew grammars in a manner much too summary; the Table of Consecution will be found much more complete and accurate than those gener­ ally given. It may be thought that even in this brief grammar some things are repeated which need only .have been stated once; the reason is that it is found in practice that some things require to be stated in different connections; and, therefore, a little repetiLion is a less evil th1m to neglect the convenience of the learner would be. The learners of Hebrew are either adults who wish to read the Bible in the original, or younger persons who have Hebrew assigned as part of their studies. The adult learner, if he acquire some small ability in reading the Hebrew Bible first, will afterwards find the critical details of Hebrew grammar far more easy to be understood ; while for a young person the memory is commonly in advance of mere reasoning power, and thus things can be better learned first, and the full and minute explanations of the reiuons, etc., may follow after. Hence many things have been left without minute explanation, the desire being in no sense to supersede critical grammars; and, ~iii PREFACE. also, many things may be presented in a different form and connection to an advanced scholar, from that in which they can to a student. The impo;tance of Hebrew to every biblical student is very great; this is an aclmitted fact; yet how very many in this country, who possess at least some knowledge of the Greek New Testament, still (in spite of all the increase of Hebrew learning) know nothing of the Old Testament in the original I TO THE LEARNER, 1st. To acquire a knowledge of the letters, etc., and to learn to read and enunciate fluently. 2nd. Then to learn the personal pronouns and the verb in Kal ;-to observe the differences of the species, and gradually to obtain an entire familiarity with the whole of the regular ·rnrb. 3rd, Then attention may be paid to the common prefixes and suffixes. 4th. Then to the nouns-feminine, plural, construct state, article, etc. 5th. Then the irregular verbs may be learned (in this the mind may be used more than the memory merely). fth. After this the declensions of nouns may be acquired. ,vhile learning these parts, the learner should read care­ fully and often the remarks and rules which are introduced ; and when an accurate knowledge has been gained of re9ular forms and inflections, and a good 9eneral knowledge of those that are irregular, the learner may study all that relates to Syn~. :a: TO THE LEARNER. A small volume of H~brew Reading Lessons, containing the first four chapters of Genesis, and the eighth of Proverbs, giving the lessons which the present writer has been accustomed to impart orally, has been published by Messrs. BAGSTER; this will be found of much assistance by the learner ; many have, he knows, been aided by it.* Let the learner keep the Table of Verbs open before him in reading Hebrew; he will thus be aided in finding what any part of a verb is with which he may meet. The rules given at the conclusion of the "Heads of Hebrew Grammar" for finding words in a lexicon, will be sufficient for ordinary purposes, whether the lexicon be one of the old ones according to roots, or one arranged alphabetically like that of Gesenius. It may here be mentioned, that besides the Hebrew lexicons of ordinary a:,rangement,, there has been of late published by Messrs. BAGSTER, "An Analytical Hebrew Lexicon"; this work, by l\Ir. B. Davidson, will be peculiarly useful to learners ; for they may there find every word in the Hebrew Bible in alphabetical arrangement, just as it is read in the Sacred Text ; the word is referred to its root, and the parsing is given very clearly. • This Manual, the "Hebrew Reading Lessons" has been adopted as one or the books used in the "Honour Course" at St. Aidan's College, Birkenhead. We take this opportunity of stating that the Grammatical Remarks prefixed to them are by another author. CONTENTS. PART 1.--THE LEITE.RS AND READING. § l. Mode of writing 2. The letters •s 3. Remarks on the letters as to form 3 § 4. On the powers of some of the letters. Daghesh 4 § 5. The voweis 5 i 6. Remarks on some of the vowels. Kiimets Knaceph, etc. 6 § 7. Accents, etc. § 8. Syllables. Furtive Pa' -thakh '8 § 9. Spelling 9 § 10. Division of the letters according to their powers 12 § 11. Remarks on the gutturak 12 § 12. On Daghesh lene 13 § 13. 0 n Daghesh forte lS § 14. Division of the letters according to their use 14 § 15. Mutation of vowels 14 PART II.-PARTS OF SPEECH. DIVISION. 1.-PRONOUll"S. The personal pronouns . {TABLI: A)• 16 • The T.un,n will bo found at the end of the V.,..__ QI CONTENTS. :,.1.e• i 2. Demonstrative pronoum 17 § 3, The relative pronoun 17 • 4. Interrogative and indelinite pronouns 1, 11.-THI! VKRB. § 1. Species or conjugations 18 § 2. Moods and tenses 20 § 3. Flexion of the regular vero 21 § 4. Remarks on the table of the verb (TABLE B) 30 § 5. 0 n the preterite of Kal 30 § 6. The infinitive and imperative 31 § 7. On the future of Kal, and the distinction of the futures in the different species 31 8. Niphal 32 9. Piel and Pua! 33 § l0. Hiphil and Hophal 33 § 11. Hithpael 34 } 12. Species less freque,1tly used 35 § 13. Quadriiiterals 35 § 14, Irregular verbs in general 36 § 15.